Homicide–Suicide in China: an Exploratory Study of Characteristics and Types

This study explores 63 homicide–suicide cases that include two or more homicide victims, in the People’s Republic of China. This is the first study to examine homicide–suicide in the Chinese context, following calls to develop a research strategy outside of the USA and Europe. Data are derived from a content analysis of Chinese news sources from 2000 to 2014. Findings show homicide–suicide offenders are likely to be married males living in rural cities who kill their intimate partners and/or children inside a residence using knives. Intimate partner conflict and extramarital affairs are precipitating factors in almost half of the incidents. Patterns of homicide–suicide in China are comparable to those in high-income countries, except that firearms are not the primary means in China and there is no evidence of “mercy killing” among older persons, as described in western homicide–suicide studies. Findings are related to the social and economic structure of Chinese society. Clinical and policy implications include the need for greater transparency and a nationwide homicide and suicide tracking system in China, stricter domestic violence laws, postmortem studies of the brains of homicide–suicide offenders, and psychological autopsies on homicide–suicide perpetrators.     

(In)civility and online deliberation: readers’ reactions to race-related news stories

Reacting to an increase in gratuitous racist and sexist comments made by readers in response to online articles, media outlets in South Africa have begun closing down their comments sections, an action that has been repeated many times over across the globe. After a particularly abusive tirade against a young women who wrote an article about being black in Cape Town, Independent Media established an advisory panel in 2014 to investigate the nature of user-generated content (UGC) on their news site, Independent Online (IOL). One of the panel’s recommendations was that what is meant by “uncivil” discourse on online news sites be delineated more accurately and narrowly. Employing computer-mediated discourse analysis, we explore the nature of civility and incivility generated by readers of online news. We look at readers’ posts in response to race-based topics and uncover the complexities inherent in describing both (in)civility and deliberative discourse precisely. Our sample is drawn from the South African newspaper Mail & Guardian Online, one of the few national media establishments that permitted user comments during our data collection phase.     

Recovery of trace DNA and its application to DNA profiling of shoe insoles

In recent years, the analysis of trace amounts of DNA has become a necessary and useful forensic tool. DNA profiles can be obtained from items that have been worn or handled, due to the presence of transferred DNA derived from skin cells. Shoeprints collected from crime scenes that match a suspects shoe can link a shoe to the crime scene. A DNA profile from inside the shoe can link a wearer to a shoe thus increasing the evidential value of the forensic evidence. In this work, variation in the amount of DNA recovered from hands and feet of different individuals is investigated. Sites for sampling DNA from shoe insoles are compared and a protocol for the subsequent sampling and extraction is developed. Finally, a case study is described where DNA analysis of shoe insoles has provided forensic evidence.     

School Problems and Solutions for Students With Disabilities: A Qualitative Examination

The inclusion of students with disabilities is a process that requires collaboration among multiple individuals, with teachers, aides, parents, students, and school systems playing important roles in resolving student problems. In the current study, we examined data from 75 teachers concerning 126 students about problems that students with disabilities had following a transition from a school primarily serving students with disabilities to more inclusive schools. Reported problems were reviewed and five major themes emerged: academic, behavioral, mobility/accessibility, social, and transportation issues. Teachers typically resolved academic problems by working directly with the student or collaborating with school staff. Social problems were resolved through student and teacher initiatives. Behavioral, transportation, and mobility/accessibility problems were resolved through collaboration among many key school figures and family members. Implications for theory, research, and inclusive school practices related to academic curricula, resources, services, and architectural accommodations for students with disabilities are discussed.     

Transportation Challenges for Urban Students With Disabilities: Parent Perspectives

This qualitative study explored parent perspectives of the transportation difficulties students with disabilities experienced getting to and around school. Participants were parents of predominantly African American and Latino/a high school youth with disabilities from low income neighborhoods. Content analysis of 14 meetings with 5 to 12 parents sponsored by the school district revealed five primary themes concerning transportation: the role of aides, exclusion from school programming, scheduling problems, equipment problems, and physical safety issues. Findings are discussed in regard to students' social and emotional experiences at school. Implications for school policy include improving the integration of transportation within inclusion best practice models. Incorporating parent perspectives can help school administrators and staff enrich the quality of inclusive, socially just education for students with disabilities.     

Trauma Severity,Poly-victimization,and Treatment Response: Adults in an Inpatient Trauma Program

The goal of the current study was to evaluate the extent to which abuse history predicted change in treatment in an inpatient setting. Poly-victimization and trauma severity were examined as predictors of treatment response measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 and the Symptom Checklist-90-R at admission, discharge, and 6-months follow-up. Data from 161 clients of an inpatient trauma treatment program were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that level of poly-victimization predicted treatment response from admission to discharge on two of four outcome variables; however, this relationship was not found at follow-up. Further analyses suggest that the difference in treatment response at discharge among clients with higher rates of poly-victimization was an artifact of scores at admission. Trauma severity analyses reveal that differing types of abusive experiences generally did not predict treatment response. Overall, results demonstrate that this inpatient treatment program is similarly effective for a broad array of patients, including those with a greater number, and higher severity, of victimizations.